Dragon Healer - A Pern Adventure
by Dragonsight Elli
Summary: Golanth had been badly injured when he and his rider, F'lessan were attacked by Southern felines. Now, seven years after the arrival of humans from 21st Century Earth, a radical new approach to the care of dragons was about to be discovered!
1. Chapter 1 - No More

Dragon Healer

A Dragonriders of Pern © Fan Fiction

By Elli Swanson

_(inspired by Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series)_

\- Legal notice -

The World of Pern is copyrighted to Anne McCaffrey (c) l967.

'The Dragonriders of Pern' (R) is a registered trademark.

_**Chapter 1 – No More**_

Present Pass, 31.7.3 / AIVAS reckoning, July third, a.l. 2553.

Threadfall at Igen Weyr / later afternoon at Igen Weyr

Chlorith zigzagged through the air, trying to aim me at the Threads falling so I could use my flamethrower. My aim sucks, no matter what I'm doing, so Chlorith always has to do an intricate dance to aim me right at the Threads.

"We're getting a lot today," I shouted through the hiss of falling Thread. "That's unusual. It's a pretty heavy fall!"

_It is,_ Chlorith agreed. _Thread should not be falling like this._

Suddenly, she froze for about ten seconds, then flew up into the air with a massive surge, higher than the queens' wing ought to be flying, higher even than the Threads. I could see the images of all the other colors of dragons whizzing by us as she surged upward to join the lead wing.

"Chlorith!" I shouted. "We're not supposed to be up here! Get down! I don't want to singe anyone with my flamethrower!"

For once in her life, Chlorith didn't listen to me. She surged upward, zigzagging all the way until she was level with her weyrmate, gently entwining necks with him.

"Really, Chlorith?" I moaned, shaking my head. "Is this the time for an intimate moment?" Then, feeling my anger rising, I shouted, "This is Threadfall! We need to get back into position!"

_Claranth is no more_, my golden heart quietly told me, the anguish palpable in her mental voice. _He was Guyamath's clutchmate._

"Only you would remember who your clutchmates are, Chlorith," I replied, patting her on the neck. "Honestly, you have the memory of a fire-lizard! You defy Kitti Ping Yung's programming in many ways. You are a very unique queen, and I love you very much, but right now, we've got to get back to fighting Thread. That way, Claranth will not have died in vain."

_He hurts,_ my beautiful queen reported, meaning her weyrmate. _He cannot concentrate on Fall anymore, but he must. He's our leader._

"Send it all to me, then," I said; my favorite line when Chlorith saw something that upset her. "Send me the images you saw."

That proved to be a mistake. Suddenly, I felt as though I were being eaten alive by tendrils of flaming Threads. This was not just a superficial scoring, but a complete destruction. I was being horribly, painfully consumed by a heavy clump of Thread that wasn't there before. I had gone _between_ to get rid of a superficial scoring, but when I had re-emerged, it had been right into the dark embrace of the voracious silver death. I had not made a mistake. I had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Whoa, that was pretty heavy," I gasped, shaking my head to dispel the images, "but you dragons will forget that in a couple of days. The riders who witnessed it most definitely will not."

I had the sneaking suspicion that D'nag was important in some way; other than being a wing-second. Then it hit me. D'nag was G'narish's best friend! Cassandria had been his milk mother two years before G'narish's birth, and they had grown up like brothers. D'nag was to G'narish as Tiffany was to me. No wonder Chlorith was entwining necks with Guyamath. He was picking up G'narish's distress, and he was distraught. It was obvious G'narish couldn't finish the Fall.

"Let's land," I ordered, pointing to the ground below. "Who's wing-second?"

_Claranth's rider was_, Chlorith replied, her mental tone filled with anguish, _but now he is no more._

"There've got to be more riders in this wing to take over if a Wing-second dies," I growled, frustrated. "G'narish can't finish the Fall. He's in shock."

"I'll do it," said a brown rider I couldn't recognize. "I'm wing-second in B'tris' wing, but I can take over this one. B'tris is doing fine, so he can manage without me."

"Who are you again so I can document this?"

"I'm G'lum, Bith's rider."

"Okay. I'll put that in the computer as soon as I get back in the weyr. I document every Threadfall in my laptop."

"Are you going to put that in Igen Weyr's official website?" G'lum inquired.

"Yes," I responded. "We need records of casualties on the site so that the other Weyrs can be notified in case next of kin is wounded or killed."

"The dragons do that, anyway," G'lum insisted.

"But if your family's in a Hold, they won't be notified unless you have a fire-lizard, and not everyone has a fire-lizard," I disagreed. Then, more genially, I told him, "Get going, G'lum. We're counting on you!"

"You got it, Weyrwoman," he said, snapping me a fancy salute before he and Bith rejoined the fight.

Chlorith led Guyamath back to Igen Weyr and down to the floor of the Weyr bowl. I dismounted then helped G'narish down from Guyamath's back. I put an arm around him and supported him to our weyr. I made him comfortable on the bed, then I got out my laptop and went on the Weyr's official website to report the unusually heavy fall and the casualties therein.

An almost inaudible sniff interrupted me.

"G'narish?" I asked, setting the laptop down and hurrying over to sit on the bed. "Are you okay?"

"I've never seen anything like that before," he responded, his voice choked by the recent painful memories. "I've seen many Thread scorings in my lifetime, but nothing like that! D'nag was my best friend… my brother! He was like Tiffany is to you! I thought of letting Claranth mate with Rollith, but Claranth preferred greens."

Tears welling up in his eyes, G'narish struggled to say, "I can't live without him. Everything I did was for him, Nadira, the girls, and now you. He's a vital piece of the puzzle, and now I can't do anything!"

Overcome with grief, G'narish began to sob uncontrollably. Feeling his pain, I put my arms around him and held him tightly. I had never seen anyone go to pieces like that before, much less a Weyrleader, unless I was watching it on TV back on Earth.

For the first time in ten Turns, I began to sing. I sang two songs about lost loved ones and comfort in memories. I sang of the joy that came with friendships and the grief that came when they ended.

"You should b-be a Harper!" G'narish stuttered through his racking sobs. "You're bringing it out in me!"

"That's the point," I said gently.

"I'm stepping down as Weyrleader," he said, finally. "I can't do this anymore, not after witnessing D-D'nag, the way he d-d-died."

"I don't blame you, sweetheart," I replied, giving him a tight, reassuring hug. "I saw it, too, and it was pretty bad."

"Pretty bad's an understatement!" Tiffany chimed in, coming into the room. "If you two step down, I'm going South with you." To G'narish, she added, "I won't leave Elli's side for one moment. We lived too far apart back on Earth. I'm not leaving her now."

"We'll go to Honshu," I decided. "That's the perfect place to retire, and there's an observatory there, so we can start practicing for after the end of the Pass. I want Chlorith to start practicing telekinesis. She'll need it if she's supposed to deflect comets from hitting us again!"

"We'll come, too!" Raeana said, escorting Calentia into the room.

"You can't," I argued, shaking my head for emphasis. "If you go, Igen Weyr will have no queens. "As much as I'll hate to leave you, you have to stay here. Besides, we're only a jump away _between_. You can handle it. We'll have to take Cassandria and the twins. G'narish flatly refuses to foster them out. He's a devoted father. I want to take the twins to Landing School, but he wants them to be queen riders. I don't see why they can't do both."

"We'll have to check with F'lessan and see if Honshu's available," G'narish recovered enough to say. "He might not want more people there with Golanth so hurt."

_I have an idea what to do about Golanth_, Chlorith injected. _I think I can help him recover._

"You'll forget your idea before we even get to Honshu," I argued, smiling all the while.

_No, I won't_, Chlorith chided me. _You said I have the memory of a fire-lizard. I'll remember._


	2. Chapter 2 - New Therapy

_**Chapter 2 – A New Therapy**_

Early morning at Igen Weyr / midmorning at Honshu Weyrhold

31.7.5, AIVAS Reckoning, AL 2553

It took me several hours to pack my stuff to go to Honshu, as I had all my tapes and electronics with me, but we finally left Igen on the 5th day of July. It was midwinter in the South, but they never saw snowfall. Nor did the Igen desert, so it was nothing new to us. It was gut-wrenching to leave Raeana behind, but she had a queen dragon now, and I devoutly hoped her dragon would rise first, because she was better qualified to be a senior Weyrwoman than Calentia.

Nothing phased Raeana, but she didn't apologize for the slightest mistake, either. She just moved on. She didn't really have good leadership qualities, but she was quietly outgoing. Calentia was just as responsible, but she was also inhibited. She was always trying to please and be exactly like Seska, but Seska was never pleased with her little sister, mostly because they had such different personalities. I figured this was why Seska got a green while Calentia got a queen.

With Tiffany and F'rangle coming with us, that left Igen Weyr with two queens. They were both seven Turns out of the shell, so they were both still very young. They'd clutch many queens in their Turns. Our queens were ten Turns out of the shell, so they'd still mate and clutch.

"There are no Hatching Sands at Honshu," I said. "I suspect F'lessan is keeping it for the old farts."

"Then, it's perfect," G'narish managed to chuckle. "I'm an old fart."

"You're not an old fart!" I chided him. "My dad's older than you."

G'narish laughed so seldomly now since D'nag had gone _between_. I was sincerely hoping our time at Honshu would help him get past what had happened.

Upon our arrival at Honshu, F'Lessan greeted us warmly. He was always so merry unless it came to his dragon. Golanth was bitter about his injury and had an absolute meltdown whenever Thread fell. I wondered for the umpteenth time what Chlorith's idea was. However, I did not ask, as I thought she might have forgotten it by now.

She hadn't. As we riders were talking, Chlorith wandered over to the beasthold and worked the metal bars to open it. She found Golanth inside, fast asleep. Gently, tenderly, Chlorith woke him, as he was trembling and whimpering.

_I dreamt I was fighting Thread again_, he muttered. _I cannot do anything anymore. I can barely see, and I cannot move my wing._

_I know I cannot fix the vision_, Chlorith said gently, _but I think I can fix the wing. My rider calls it physical therapy. I want you to use your brain power to extend your wing and hold it for ten seconds_.

_How long is ten seconds?_ Golanth wondered, sounding skeptical. _We do not count._

_I can count_, Chlorith assured him. _Please, try to extend your wing._

Even using his telekinetic ability for support, Golanth bawled in pain as he gingerly extended his left wing.

_Yes, it's going to hurt_, Chlorith explained, _but it will hurt less and less each time you do it. You will be able to fly Zaranth again. Don't worry_.

_Zaranth!_

Golanth breathed that single word as though the green was his only link to life.

_You love her, don't you?_ Chlorith asked, convinced that it was true. _Do this for her so you can mate and fight Thread again._

Golanth did and tried to keep his cry of pain to a bare minimum. He held it there for ten seconds as Chlorith counted.

"Your dragon can count to ten?" Tiffany asked, amazed. "I heard dragons can't count. Next thing you know she'll be able to read."

"No, no," I laughed. "I didn't know she could do that, either. I think we neglect to teach our dragons the most important things. Our bond is so strong she probably learned from my mind."

"What is she doing in there?" F'lessan demanded. "That's Golly's weyr."

"I'm well aware of that," I replied. "I think she's talking to him in there. She keeps telling him to do something for ten seconds. I didn't know dragons knew numbers. I think they're working on their telekinesis."

"He's whimpering," F'lessan reported, rising to his feet before running out of the room.

I could hear F'lessan yelling all the way from Honshu's great hall as he demanded to know what the shells Chlorith was doing to his dragon. I was much given to daydreams, so I didn't pay much heed when I heard dragons conversing with each other, because I would sometimes have imaginary conversations between them in my head, so I thought this was one of those times.

I was wrong.

_Chlorith, dragons can't do therapy_, I said silently.

_They can if they use telekinesis to manipulate the joints and muscles_, Chlorith replied.

The idea was intriguing, so I picked up my cane and carefully made my way down to Golanth's cliffside weyr.

Coming up beside F'lessan, I said, "No healer recommended physical therapy for Golanth's wing, have they, F'lessan?"

"What's physical therapy?" F'lessan asked, puzzled by the term.

"It's a medical technique where you do exercises to help injuries get better," I explained, laying a hand on his arm. "Chlorith believes that if a healer did physical therapy on the wing, Golanth could make a full recovery, fight Thread, and mate again."

"I'm not so sure that'll work," F'lessan muttered, his eyes growing a little wider as he witnessed Golanth's wing moving more than it used to.

It flapped very slowly, but he could see that Golanth was in pain.

"Physical therapy can be very painful at first," I tried to reassure him, "but it gets better if you keep practicing."

I prayed I wasn't imagining the glimmer of hope Chlorith was showing me in F'lessan's eyes.

"How many times a sevenday are you planning to do this with him?" I asked Chlorith.

_Once every day_, she replied. _Dragons have no concept of days or sevendays._

"You're right about that," I chuckled as Golanth relaxed his wing for a bit.

_Keep practicing,_ Chlorith told Golanth_._ _You'll be flying before you know it._

Chlorith sounded so much like a professional physical therapist, that I couldn't help laughing.

_If I can fly again, I would be so happy,_ Golanth sighed, deep longing in every syllable. _Can I go swimming with the dolphins now?_

_Let's all go swimming_, said Chlorith. _I'll get you on your left side_.

"Chlori, we still have to unpack!" I pointed out.

Big as they were, the two dragons really didn't leave us much choice. Chlorith really wanted to swim. Gingerly, watchfully beside her dragon patient, Chlorith led Golanth out of his weyr and down to the beach. I supposed I could unpack later, I inwardly sighed, but I really wanted to find a tape for G'narish to listen to. Perhaps a swim would cheer him up more. I had my doubts, though.

Chlorith did not swim right away. She helped Golanth land in the water, then took his left wing in her foreclaws and began to manipulate it in the water.

_See how much easier that is?_ Chlorith asked. _Water is heavier than air. You can hold it better in the water._

I was floored once again by my queen. How did she know all this stuff? Dragons were supposed to be intelligent, but they weren't supposed to know facts like that.

"Can Rollith count?" I asked Tiffany.

"Yes, she can, at least to ten."

"What kind of trivia does she tell you?" I queried my 'twin'. "For example, Chlorith just told Golanth his wing would move better in the water because water is heavier than air."

"Yeah, I heard that," Tiffany remarked, her brows furrowing. "Rollith really doesn't share trivial facts; she just talks to me."

"The dragon mirrors the rider," G'narish injected, just standing in the water, not doing anything else. Chuckling, he added, "And Elli's a walking AIVAS file."

"Not really when it comes to computers," I demurred. "I hate googling something because I can never find what I'm looking for. It takes so long. I'd rather have someone else google it for me. I'm a pro at YouTube, though."

"What's YouTube?" G'narish wondered as he watched Chlorith manipulating Golanth's wing in the water.

"YouTube is a site where you can watch and record videos." I explained. "A video is an audio and visual recording. If Fandarel got them right, all our cellphones will be equipped with video cameras. My cell phone's working now, so yours should be up and running anytime now. We have the satellite relay from the Yokohama down south, but they're setting up towers all over the Northern Continent. They might have to set up towers in the South, too, if the Yokohama's satellite doesn't reach all the way across the Southern Continent. I think it does, though. I hope the signal will reach into the caves, though. I think Benelek is rigging it so that it will."

"Phones are much more useful to us than fire-lizards," grumbled Tiffany, who didn't have one of her own. "They're used to send messages, and of course, those messages would be in print."

"I still love my two queens, though," I sighed, recalling the moment. "I chose one egg from each clutch when they had two out there to choose from. Next time one of my queen's clutches, I'll make sure you get a queen of your own."

"Will G'narish get a bronze?" Tiffany teased me.

"Yes, of course!" I cried seriously. "Then we'll have a double bond. Perhaps I'll give him two bronzes. Then we'll really have fun!"

"No, I'm too old for a fire-lizard." G'narish sadly mumbled.

"You're not too old for anything!" I chided him. "Shut up!"

_THREAD!_ Chlorith and Rollith bugled as the sky to the northeast began to turn silver-grey.

"Shells!" I cursed. "We've got to go!"

Golanth keened with despair. F'lessan quickly got on his back, then the pair rose above the ground and vanished _between_. Tiffany and I mounted our beasts and waited for G'narish to mount Guyamath, but G'narish didn't move.

"Come on, Nar, Thread is coming!" I shouted, waving frantically to the northeast.

But a lost, faraway look had come over G'narish' face, and he began to scream; his eyes wild. "Watch out, D'nag! There's a big clump there, duck! D'nag! Oh, shards. D'nag, it's eating him alive!"

I dismounted Chlorith and ran to my weyrmate.

"Sweetie, it's okay," I softly spoke, my own self on the verge of panic.

The only time I'd ever seen a flashback before was when I role played with my friends back on Earth. But this was no role play. This was the real thing, and I didn't know how to handle it.

"It's all over, Darling," I wept, tears pouring down my face as I turned G'narish toward his distraught bronze and pushed with every ounce of strength I could muster. "It's all over. Your brother's gone, and you can't do anything for him now. But Thread's coming, and you have to come on now."

"Why is Guyamath losing it?" Tiffany wondered, totally confused.

"Because his rider's losing it," I explained between gushes of comfort.

The screaming had stopped; G'narish reduced to sobs and trembling. I held him, still panicking, because none of us had firestone on us that Guyamath could use to flame a Thread-free path for us.

"We've got to go, darling," I said gently, as though I were talking to one of my six-year-old twins. "Thread's coming."

I helped G'narish mount Guyamath, then I mounted Chlorith, and the six of us went _between_ back to Honshu. I was a little worried about what F'lessan would think of G'narish' reaction to Thread after so many Turns of fighting it, but those worries were banished to the four winds when we landed in the shelter of the Weyrhold and F'lessan was laughing with Lord Jaxom.

"Therapy, huh?" Jaxom was asking. "Why didn't Sharra Impress that queen?"

The dragons went off to the new weyrs that had just been constructed for them to sleep. That left the humans to mull over Chlorith's grand idea. G'narish was still weeping. I took him in my arms but joined the conversation between rocking and shushing the former Weyrleader of Igen.

"He's never seen someone consumed by Thread before. D'nag came out of _between_ right into a heavy clump of it. G'narish was right next to him. The two of them grew up like brothers — even Impressing at the same Hatching. I did something I probably shouldn't've. One night, when G'narish invited D'nag to join him in our quarters for a game and a cup of wine, I took one of my nine tape players and recorded them. I thought I'd have something to remember G'narish by if I lost him to Threadscore, because he wasn't a Weyrleader that night; he was an ordinary man who laughed, played, and just plain had a good time."

"Where is that tape?" G'narish demanded.

I gulped nervously, thinking he might be pissed off at me for recording him without his knowledge.

"I brought it along," I said uneasily. "It's in my Pernese tape basket."

"I want to hear it," he said. "I want to hear his voice again! Do you have any pictures or videos of him?"

"You know I don't take pictures," I said. "Raeana might have some. She's the queen of photos and videos. Those would work on a phone even without a tower to connect it to. Cell phones are so much better than com units. You can't send text messages with a com unit, and you can't access the internet. Plus, you can have private conversations on a phone, whereas with a hand unit everybody hears the conversation. They're more like walkie-talkies than phones."

"Are we having Threadfall right now?" Jaxom asked. "I didn't bring any firestone."

"Yes, we are," I said impatiently. "That's why G'narish lost it. He had a flashback. He's suffering from PTSD."

"What's this PTSD thing you're talking about?" F'lessan wondered, unfamiliar with the term.

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," I explained, recalling some of what I had learned. "It's a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it."

"Based on what you've told us, Elli," F'lessan spoke, shaking his head, "that perfectly describes what G'narish went through with his brother, D'nag."

"Too bad we don't have any psychologists or psychiatrists on Pern," I sighed, giving my weyrmate a warm hug. "I think the Healer Hall should expand to include psychiatric training. People need that as much as the medical stuff."

"Speaking of medical stuff," said Jaxom; "do you think any dragon could do this physical therapy stuff?"

"I don't see why not," I concluded, glancing off in the direction of the sleeping dragons. "If Chlorith can teach them what to do. She uses a lot of telekinesis in her technique. She also uses her foreclaws to manipulate joints and muscles. This is the first time I've ever seen her do it, but she seems to know what she's doing. I think she got the information through her bond with me. She's had to adapt a lot of draconic traits to accommodate my vision loss. Rollith has adapted, too, but in different ways."

"Chlorith and Rollith are tight," Tiffany said, looking uncomfortable to see G'narish so upset. "I bet Chlorith could teach Rollith anything. She already taught her to dance. Man, this is depressing, dude!"

"Want to go to our new quarters?" I asked G'narish, but he just stared off into space, tears rolling silently down his cheeks.

"Come on," I said, grabbing my cane and supported G'narish out of the room, Chlorith's vision guiding me to our new weyr.

"Well, Chlorith, it looks as though we both have projects to work on here," I said as cheerfully as I could muster. "I have G'narish, and you have Golanth."


	3. Chapter 3 - Trying Too Hard

_**Chapter 3 – Trying Too Hard**_

Honshu Weyrhold / 31.7.6 – 31.8.6

My project with G'narish was failing dismally. During the day, he was sullen and sulky. At night, he cried himself to sleep. The only consolation I had from all this was that he invariably chose me to let it out with. The only other one he would unburden to was his dragon, Guyamath. And the poor bronze invariably lost it whenever G'narish had flashbacks.

I couldn't leave him, no matter what I did. He felt safer with me than Manora, because she'd never fought Thread a day in her life. He would never calm down until I returned from checking for burrows with the ground crews. That wasn't as major a task down south as it was up North, but people were more reassured by the sight of dragonriders than they were by the grubs. We didn't really need ground crews because of the grubs, but it was still common practice among the people who had set up nearby Holds. Every time I'd come up the steps to meet G'narish, he'd run to me, throw his arms around me, and sob like a baby with relief that I hadn't been ravaged by Thread.

"Never leave me!" he'd beg. "I can't bear to lose you, too."

"Are you sure you can handle him, Elli?" Mom asked. "He needs professional help."

"I know he does," I replied, "but they don't have therapists on Pern. I'm the best he's got. Plus, he knows I won't judge him for his flashbacks because I know about war veterans returning home with PTSD."

Mom and Dad were living with us now. They could no longer stand the harsh winters of the Northern Continent. My siblings visited often, whenever they didn't have to fight Thread. Tina was unimpressed with G'narish, even though I told her what had happened to him.

"What if you witnessed your best friend forever being eaten alive?" I finally blew up at her after she and our brothers had helped me fight Thread in the middle of the 8th month. "Wouldn't you be traumatized, too?"

Furious, I got up from my chair and ran from the room, not even thinking to grab my cane as I went. I made it all the way up to our weyr before I burst into a fit of angry tears. I didn't want anyone to hear me, but the sobs kept coming. Tiffany found me there.

"What's the matter, Twin?" she asked.

"Nobody understands, nobody!" I sobbed. "Nobody understands what I'm go through with him. Instead, they criticize me for Chlorith mating with Guyamath. Like that was my fault! I had no control over who flew Chlorith. And besides, I love him! He's so much like the good side of Dave without the bad qualities. I've been with him for seven years, and we haven't had a serious fight yet!"

I stopped, heart skipping a beat as I heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. I took a deep, shuddering breath, but it did nothing to calm me down.

"Am I too much of a burden on you?" It was G'narish.

"Of course not!" I cried passionately. "This is what I'm best at — comforting people. I just feel like I can't do enough for you."

"It takes time," Tiffany reminded me.

"But I have to help Time," I protested. "Time may heal all wounds, but it can't do it alone."

"I know you're awake when you accidentally on purpose move your hand to my shoulder every night," G'narish explained, laying a trembling hand against my tear-stained cheek. "You don't fall asleep very easily, do you? I suppose you're too worried about me to sleep. I'm sorry. I won't burden you anymore."

"You don't burden me, 'Narish." I argued. "Quite the contrary! You give me reason to live. I love you so much. I'd be more worried about you if you kept it inside all the time. I know it's going to take time to heal. I just wish my family thought the same about it. That's why I'm so upset right now… not because of you, but because of the way they're treating you. They don't understand that there's no professional help on Pern."

For the first time in a month, G'narish took me in his arms to comfort me. For the first time, he was reaching out of his own grief to give someone else comfort.

"I trust you, El," he quietly said. "I knew that was Chlorith who flew out of the queen's wing when Guyamath and I saw D'nag and Claranth die. We would have gotten scored ourselves if the two of you hadn't rescued us. You saved me twice already: once when I lost Nadira, and once when I lost D'nag. You've always been there for me. I love you."

That speech stopped my tears as effectively as if they'd been shut off from a faucet. I held him tightly till my siblings had gone. They didn't know what they were talking about. They thought I couldn't handle anything because I was blind. Well, I was going to do everything I could to prove them wrong!

Chlorith's project was going much better than mine. Every day, for an hour at a time, she'd manipulate Golanth's wing, first with telekinesis then with foreclaws. She always keened with him when it hurt, and her eyes would whirl happy blues and greens whenever he achieved a bigger goal than the last. One day, just after Threadfall, Golanth walked down the ramp, extended his wings, and took off, only to bawl with pain and plunge through the air. Zaranth and Chlorith both caught him in midair before he could plunge to his death.

_You overworked yourself_, Chlorith said with the gentlest understanding I'd ever heard from a dragon before. _You must start little first, then work yourself up to the big goals. You can't extend your wing for that long yet, and you most certainly cannot extend your wing while you're flapping it. You need to go slowly. Then, and only then, will you recover._

F'lessan came barreling down the ramp to his dragon.

"What the shells happened?" he demanded. "What by the First Egg happened to my dragon?"

"He tried to fly," I said, walking more slowly down the ramp. "Overworked himself."

"Will he recover?" F'lessan nervously asked.

_Tell his rider he will recover if he goes slow_, Chlorith replied.

I relayed the message.

"Don't you scare me like that, Golly!" F'lessan cried, breathing heavily.

I could sense his heart pounding. Golanth crooned with despair.

_It's alright, Golanth_, said Zaranth. _I will wait for you._

"Whatever that means," I said, not thinking F'lessan heard her.

"You can't wait to mate Zaranth," he said affectionately. "Tai can just mate with me, anyway. I'll be the only one in her chamber when you rise."

"I don't think that'll work," I argued. "I thought the mating flights were linked to the dragons, so whoever's dragon is mating, the riders have to mate with each other."

Tai cringed. She didn't want to mate with anyone but F'lessan.

_I will wait for him_, Zaranth said in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Just don't get cocky like that again," F'lessan sighed, patting his dragon's neck. "You'll seriously hurt yourself."

_I know_, Golanth said disconsolately. _I won't do it again._

His tone was so downcast that I was instinctively drawn to him. I gently scratched an eye ridge but hesitated to go any farther with my comforting as I wasn't his rider.

"I know you can do it, Golly." F'lessan said gently, filled with relief as he leaned against his dragon. "You just have to give it time."


	4. Chapter 4 - Noboby Deserves The World

_**Chapter 4 – Nobody Deserves The World**_

Early morning at Honshu Weyrhold / late morning at Igen Weyr

31.8.8, AIVAS reckoning, August 8th AL 2553.

"You know, we need to think of a name for the 13th month," I remarked to G'narish in one of my thoughtful moods. "On Earth, we had 12 months of varying lengths, but on Pern, we have 13 months of 28 days each, then one extra day we use as Turnover."

"Takes a lot of getting used to, I suppose., G'narish chuckled, smiling fondly down at me.

"When are they going to get those electric ground vehicles made?" I asked.

"One thing at a time!" G'narish laughed. "They're still working on the phone towers you demanded! They're putting one up at every major hold."

Just then, an agitated fire-lizard came swooping into the room, a message scroll tied to her leg. The little queen zoomed around my head like an irksome fly.

"Calm down," I sighed, a little exasperated. "Don't people realize I can't read messages?"

"I'll take that," G'narish offered, holding up his forearm for the little dear to land on.

Once he had retrieved the scroll, the fire-lizard flitted away. G'narish unrolled the message, read it, and gave a shuddering gasp.

"What is it?" I asked, suddenly on edge.

"Emma wrote us a message. Seska and Calentia are both hurt very badly."

"We've got to go!" I cried. "These are our children we're talking about here."

"I know. Oh shells, what happened to them?"

G'narish didn't finish the message. He quickly grabbed his flying gear and ran out the door, struggling to put it on mid-run. I changed before I joined him at our dragons' sides.

_Seska was Threadscored to within an inch of her life_, Chlorith reported, her thoughts full of misery. _Calentia and Zareth suffered phosphine burns. Carth dies in shame._

The disastrous news absolutely floored me. Why would Zareth and Calentia suffer phosphine burns? The queens' wing flew much lower in the sky than the other wings!

_They, too, are within an inch of death,_ Chlorith moaned, on the verge of another keening episode.

That's when part of what my golden heart had reported finally hit home. Whirling to her, I asked, "Why would Carth die in shame?"

_Because she's the one who inflicted the phosphine burns._

"But Tuinth didn't die in shame when he killed Larth," I argued, forgetting to speak telepathically.

_Her rider made Carth flame at Zareth,_ Chlorith informed me in a voice filled with shame. _Larth's death was an accident. Calentia's injuries were inflicted on purpose. Carth's rider was jealous because she wanted Zareth's rider to act female, and the Weyrleader wouldn't let her. She wanted Carth to clutch and be a mother, but G'narish made her chew firestone to keep the dragon population under control._

"So, she, in essence, rejected her dragon." I surmised, again aloud.

_She did not reject her as a dragon,_ Chlorith disagreed. _She rejected her color. She rejected the restrictions placed upon her by G'narish._

"What's going on?" G'narish demanded. "I can only hear one side of the conversation here."

"Seska flew down to the Queens' wing and made Carth flame Zareth," I muttered in a flat, emotionless voice.

"What?!" G'narish cried, horrified. "I knew Seska was bullying Calentia, but I didn't think it was that serious. Seska has a temper, but I thought Impressing Carth would've softened it. Oh my god!" — and he used an Earth oath for the first time in his life — "They're both my children! What can we do?"

"If Seska lives through this, she is no longer my child!" I declared. "If she's going to deliberately attempt to kill someone using her dragon's abilities, she is no longer welcome in my family, and I'll tell her that the minute I see her! Serves her right she's Threadscored! Should've been looking above her instead of in front of her trying to flame the wrong life form!"

"I agree with you," said G'narish sadly; "but she's still my daughter."

When we landed at Igen Weyr, Eliana, the headwoman and healer, came running up to meet us.

"Oh, I'm so glad you came!" she cried, all a dither. "Seska's in a right state! She isn't accepting any fellis juice or accepting any numbweed. She's delirious. She thinks Carth's still there, but Carth died of her Threadscores. What do we tell her?"

"What about Calentia?" I demanded angrily.

In my mind, Seska didn't deserve anyone being concerned for her well-being.

"She's sleeping," Eliana responded. "Fellis juice. She's cooperating with us despite her fever. She keeps asking for Seska."

Eliana burst into tears.

"Seska tried to kill her by setting Carth on her in the Queens' wing!" I shouted at her, my fury filling the room. "She was jealous of Calentia because she got the queen. She wanted Carth to act like a true female by clutching young, but G'narish made her chew firestone instead. Seska thought that if she couldn't have the queen, no one should. She thought, as the elder daughter, she had every right to the queen while Calentia shouldn't have gotten anything until she, Seska, got the queen first."

"Her temperament was all wrong for a queen," G'narish said softly, still trying to absorb what I had said. "Queens only accepted riders with such temperaments before because we wouldn't allow girls to ride greens. Now that girls are allowed to ride greens, queens don't Impress riders with temperaments like Seska's."

I can't wait to tell her she's banished!" I growled. "Her dragon's already dead, so we won't have the same problem as we did with Danala."

"I will disown her," G'narish muttered softly as we walked down the corridor; "but it grieves me to do so. I blame myself for this affair. Oh Elli, where did I go wrong with her?"

The last was spoken in an anguished shout, and I moved to put my arms around him as he broke down.

"Some people can have the best parents in the world and still end up psychopaths," I said gently. "Other children can have the worst parents and still grow up to be the best people in the world. Most, however, do mirror their parents' behaviors and personalities. Seska is one of the rare few that doesn't."

"Perhaps I should've let Carth clutch and fly in the Queens' wing," G'narish sighed, wringing his hands. "Then this wouldn't have happened."

"Stop blaming yourself for this!" I cried passionately. "None of this is your fault! If you'd've let Carth clutch, we'd be up to our ears in little greens! We'd've had no use for them! I know some greens can clutch queens, but they're very small, and they can't produce nice big dragons either because of their size. And you couldn't have let Zareth chew firestone anyway, because queens can't. Remember when I tried it with Chlorith after we had that horrible incident with Danala?"

G'narish's head nodded on my shoulder.

"It wouldn't have worked," I went on. "Besides, we need every queen to clutch, and she might've been Senior Weyrwoman if this hadn't happened."

We continued across the bowl to Seska's weyr. Up the steps we climbed, G'narish still shaking.

"I didn't think Carth would suicide without me," Seska mumbled as we entered the room.

She tried to sit up but cried out in pain, instead.

"Lie down, Seska," I said in a flat voice.

I heard a retching sound to my left and ducked out of the way just in time as G'narish heaved his guts all over the floor.

"Eww!" I said in utter disgust. "Shouldn't a former Weyrleader have more guts than that?"

"You didn't see her, Elli," he gasped out between hurls. "She has no skin left! I doubt she has enough to do that grafting procedure you told me about."

"She should be swathed in bandages," I said.

"I don't want them," Seska said in a flat voice. "I want my dragon. I want to kill Calentia and that queen of hers once and for all!"

"You're just jealous, Seska," Raeana spoke as she entered the room. "You're just jealous that your sister got the queen and you didn't. You don't have the right temperament for a queen!"

Raeana had never spoken against anyone before, but she was very fond of Calentia and treated her like the big sister she never had.

"Calentia's still sleeping, by the way," Raeana informed us. "She's pretty much in a coma."

G'narish wept again as he saw his child wreathed in bandages and barely breathing. Zareth wasn't any better. You couldn't give a dragon fellis juice because a dragon was too big, but you could swathe them in bandages and give them numbweed.

_Zareth will recover if Calentia does_, Chlorith reported. _She dodged the worst of the burns. Calentia was hurt much worse than Zareth_."

"Oh, dear heart!" G'narish whispered, holding Calentia's bandaged hand, tears flowing freely. "I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you!"

"She'll be okay," I reassured him. "Chlorith said so. Zareth will only die if she does, and she's being taken care of."

Eliana's wails distracted us, and we left hurriedly to climb back up to Seska's weyr.

"She's gone," Eliana sobbed, clutching Seska's now lifeless hand. "I know what she did, but I hate losing patients!"

I tried to hold G'narish, but he stiffened against me. I let go quickly.

"She doesn't deserve a rider's burial!" he growled, his voice shaking passionately. "I want her remains burned!"

"But that would stink the place up!"

"Do it outside on the cooking hearth we use for hatchings. Make sure the entire body's burned. I don't want so much as an ash to remain!"

Then he turned away and wept silently. This time, he did accept my offer to hold him, and we walked back to Calentia's weyr; my arm around his shuddering shoulders.

"I'm sorry Narish," I said finally as we went to Calentia's bed and each took one of her hands.

"Where did I go wrong?" G'narish whispered again. "I did everything I could for that child, and she turned on me. She was always jealous of Calentia, seemed to think Calentia was our favorite, but we never played favorites with our children. Never!"

"That's the problem with having more than one child," I softly replied. "We always run the risk of having favorites or having one child think the other is favored over them. The twins are constantly thinking I'm favoring one over the other. I keep telling Oriana that Ariana has asthma, and I have to pay more attention to her to prevent attacks because we don't have inhalers on Pern. Oriana doesn't understand that, though, or she flat-out refuses to. I hope she grows out of it."

"Calentia had to be protected because she was just like her mother," G'narish said softly so that he wouldn't wake her. "She never stood up for herself, especially when it came to Seska. She didn't think she was worth anything. I knew that, though she never let on."

"G'narish?"

The whisper came from the bed. It still rubbed me wrong that children called parents by their names on Pern.

"Cally!" he whispered. "I'm sorry we woke you. More fellis juice?"

"Tell Seska I'm sorry she didn't get the queen."

"Seska's dead, sweetie," I told her. "Carth died… and Seska didn't want to live any longer after that."

"I don't know what got me," Calentia whispered, "but I thought it was Thread."

"No darling, it was dragon fire," I told her. "Seska used Carth to try to kill you and Zareth because she was still jealous that she couldn't have a mothering dragon. She thought you were the favorite, and she wanted the love she perceived you got instead of her."

"I'm sorry," Calentia whispered, eyes filling with tears. "Now I can't tell her how sorry I am!"

"Calentia, precious child," G'narish said to her, his voice still trembling, "you've been apologizing all your life. It's time for you to realize what an asset you really are. You're just like your mother, you know that?"

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"Stop that!" I cried impatiently. "You shouldn't care what others think of you. You should never care what others think of you, only what you think of yourself."

"Zareth?" Calentia whispered.

"She's fine. She wasn't as badly hurt as you were. She'll live as long as you live. You depend on each other to survive at this point."

"I will live for her," Calentia said with determination. Looking at us, she added, "And for you. I still feel sorry for Seska, though. I got everything I didn't deserve, and she got nothing."

"She got the same things you did, Cally," G'narish said gently. "She just wanted more. Seska was a very greedy child."

"I'm surprised she Impressed at all if she was that greedy," I sighed, still trying to take it all in.

"Who's going to clean up the mess in Seska's room?" Raeana demanded, coming back into Calentia's weyr.

"You mean her dead body?" I asked. "We're disposing of that. We're going to cremate her. That's definitely breaking a long-standing tradition on Pern, but I think it fits with what she did."

"No, I mean the mess all over the floor!"

It took me a little bit to realize what Raeana was saying. She didn't have that great of a vocabulary.

"Oh, I can take care of that," I volunteered. "Just give me a mop while you're at it."

"Don't leave me!" Calentia whispered. "I don't want to be alone!"

"I'll take care of it when we dispose of the body," Eliana softly offered. "I still can't believe she did that!" and broke into tears again.

"We shouldn't've ignored her so long," G'narish sighed. "This was my fault. I should've realized she meant business after she got a green and demanded that I let her be a mother."

"Didn't she always bully Cally?" I wondered.

G'narish nodded then remembered I couldn't see without Chlorith and mumbled, "Yes, but I thought the bullying would stop once they both Impressed. Seems it only got worse, instead."

"I can only imagine how poor Carth must've felt," I whispered, squeezing Calentia's hand. "She must've felt rejected by her rider and that she had to do whatever she could to please her. Dragons aren't supposed to harm each other or other humans. I thought Danala was bad. Seska was worse!"

"I know, Elli, I know," G'narish muttered.

"I deserved it," Calentia chose that moment to say.

"No, you didn't!" G'narish exploded, stomping his foot. "You deserved nothing she ever did to you! She wanted the world and couldn't have it. You deserve the world, and almost had it taken from you!"

"Nobody deserves the world," Calentia said wisely. "You have to work for what you want."

"You did!" G'narish cried. "Seska didn't. She thought she was entitled to it just because it's there."

"Alright, Lentia, more fellis juice," I softly ordered, lifting the cup of fellis-laced broth to her bandaged lips. "You have to heal first before you can discuss philosophy with your father."

"I hurt!" she whimpered, bursting into fresh tears.

Her soft weeping was even more anguishing than loud sobbing could ever have been. I knew she wouldn't have admitted pain at all if we hadn't offered her more fellis juice.

"Go to sleep, little one," G'narish whispered fondly, planting a tender kiss on his daughter's bandaged forehead. "You're safe. We'll stay with you to keep watch."

Calentia drank the concoction down in one gulp and was asleep within moments. I got out my phone and Bluetooth keyboard to text Tiffany that we'd be staying at Igen Weyr for a while until Calentia recovered. I hadn't told anyone about Bluetooth, but Gary and Gr'gor had figured out how to set it up so that phones could connect to each other and to other devices. I fired off the text then sat down in one of the two chairs Eliana provided and waited for Calentia to awaken again.


	5. Chapter 5 - Betrayal From Within

_**Chapter 5 – Betrayal From Within**_

At Igen Weyr, 31.8.9 / AIVAS Reckoning, August 9th, AL 2553.

The following morning, it was as though a storm had swept into Igen Weyr out of nowhere. G'narish, confused and conflicted by all that had happened with Calentia and Seska, prowled the Weyr like a sentient thunderhead; his manner threatening, his eyes flashing like lightning!

"I don't want to see anything in this weyr at all!" G'narish roared at Eliana. "I want this place emptied of all her belongings! I don't want to see them anywhere in Igen or Honshu! I want them destroyed!"

"G'narish, please, isn't that a bit much?" I begged, laying a comforting hand on his quivering shoulder. "Most of this stuff can be reused. It's not fair for you to take out your anger on Eliana. She wasn't the one who almost killed Calentia."

He whirled; his anger-filled eyes fixed squarely on me.

"But she worships Seska!" G'Narish cried passionately.

"She's in shock, G." I said soothingly. "I think we all are to varying degrees. Eliana didn't believe Seska capable of such an atrocity. According to Chlorith, Seska tricked Carth into going down to the queens' level to help them fight Thread because there were only two queens in the whole wing. Then, she used telekinesis to bring Zareth closer to her to protect her. There was a heavy clump of Thread surrounding them, but Seska told Carth that she couldn't use her flamethrower or risk hitting Calentia. By this time, Carth was so crazed about fighting Thread that she started flaming, and it hit Zareth and Calentia. She didn't know what she was doing because Seska's excitement was getting to her, clouding her reason. Seska planned all of that. Unfortunately, she also got so caught up in her attack on Calentia that she didn't see how close the Thread was until it was too late. Dragon and rider plunged to the ground, heavily Threadscored. That's when Carth finally realized what she had done, both her attack on Zareth and her failure to protect her weyrmate from harm. Overcome by it all, the poor creature suicided."

"So, it was an accident on Carth's part," G'narish spoke, his voice unnaturally calm, "but not on Seska's."

"Yes," I admitted, my heart filled with grief. "Chlorith keens for Carth. She hopes you don't blame her for what Seska and Carth have done."

"No, of course I don't," G'narish replied, his voice much gentler now. "Carth was simply infected by Seska's rage and excitement. The dragon's emotions usually mirror the rider's. The dragon mirrors the rider. Oh Elli, what have I done?"

G'narish broke down in fresh tears, and I could tell he didn't mind Eliana seeing them.

"Honey," I said, taking him up in my arms, "how many times do I have to tell you that you did nothing wrong. Seska was just one of those rare cases where the child's behavior did not mirror the parent's. You were well-rounded, well-balanced, a little hidebound at times, but nothing compared to those Southern Oldtimers. You were interested in your children. You brought them up yourself. You didn't foster them out anywhere, and you helped them with their teaching ballads. You were an excellent father. Seska was strong-willed, jealous, and, in the end, bitter. She saw a weak person in her sister and bullied her. She stopped at nothing to do her sister in. She was really only happy in the first five years of life, when she was the only child. She was always meant to be an only child. She hated her sibling with all her heart."

"Are you blaming Cally for this?" G'narish turned on me angrily.

"No, no, of course not, sweetheart," I stammered, a bit startled by its intensity. "I'm just saying that Seska would've been happier being the only child. Some kids are like that. They're better off being the only child. That's not Calentia's fault. She didn't ask to be conceived. Seska was just a child who always wanted more. When Raeana and the twins came into the picture, she hated them, too. It would only have been a matter of time before she used Carth to kill one of them. She wanted to be your only darling. If you still think you did something wrong, why not blame yourself for doing something that comes completely natural during mating flights? It's useless to punish yourself over this, Narish. There's no point apportioning blame. What's done is done. That might be a quote from a Harry Potter book, but it rings true in this instance. Seska got her comeuppance. She lost her dragon… and then her life. Don't you think that's enough?"

"I suppose so," G'narish sighed. "I'll have to be content with that."

"Let's return to Calentia," I suggested, taking his hand in mine. "I know she's in a coma, but people can hear you when they're in comas."

_Zareth is in pain_, Chlorith reported, sadness in her tone. _She wants Calentia to wake up._

_We all want Calentia to wake up_, I replied, adding a mental caress to my golden heart, _but Eliana thinks it best she stays in a coma for now. She needs to heal, and she can't do that if she's awake._

We spent many painful days at Calentia's bedside, but there was no improvement in her comatose state. The skin was healing, slowly but nicely, and she would walk again with physical therapy, but G'narish and I both thought she needed to wake up.

Every time one of us left for the necessary, Eliana was always in the room. When we returned, Calentia always appeared worse. At first, we thought it was just an unconscious reaction because we had left her side. But soon, G'narish began to have suspicions about his former headwoman.

"Ask Zaranth what Eliana does when we leave the room."

When I asked Tai's dragon, the answer I got left me speechless!

_She puts a needle in her arm and feeds her medicine._

"I didn't know they were starting to use IV's on Pern!" I spluttered, clearly surprised by the news.

"They used IV's on Tiffany when they fed her Agenothree," G'narish reminded me. "Remember?"

"Oh yeah!" I spoke, nodding as I recalled. "What does she put in the tube, Zaranth?"

_I don't know_, Tai's green whined. _It makes her sleepy. She tries to wake up when you leave, and every time she wakes up, the woman puts more medicine in the tube._

Relaying the message, I asked G'narish, "Fellis?"

"I don't know, and she won't do it in front of us."

"I can't see, remember?" I said putting all the bitterness I could in my voice. "She'll take full advantage of that."

"As long as your mind doesn't start wandering while she's doing it."

"I'll use Chlorith's vision," I said.

G'narish left the room to use the necessary, and Eliana reappeared, almost as if she'd been waiting. Not looking in my direction, I could hear her bustling around the IV pole, but what she muttered under her breath sent chills up my spine.

"Don't worry, Seska. I know you should've gotten the queen, and I'll make sure she follows in your footsteps."

That was all the cue I needed.

"Eliana, what the hell are you giving her?" I demanded.

The volume of my voice woke Calentia, and she stirred, eyes opening in confusion.

"Just a little more fellis juice, dearie," she responded in her sweetest voice. "Don't worry. She'll go right back to sleep. That's the kindest thing for her right now."

"Like hell it is!" I shouted even louder than before. "I heard you talking to her dead sister when you were entering the room. You told her you were going to finish the job because she should've had the queen."

"What?!" Calentia gasped, her eyes wide in shock. "Eliana would never do that!"

"You can bet your blankity blanking bleep she would!" I cursed.

"Seska should've had the queen!" Eliana snarled, glaring at the bed ridden Calentia. "You did her an injustice by Impressing the beast! That queen should've been hers! She couldn't finish the job, and now the only person who ever understood Seska will finish it for her!"

At that precise moment, G'narish reentered the room, drawn by the loud commotion.

"What have you done to my daughter?" he hissed, hand on his belt knife, his beet-red face within an inch of Eliana's.

"Just tried to make sure she healed properly," Eliana said in a sweet, hurt voice.

"Tell him the truth, you bitch!" I shouted at her, working myself up to a full-fledged meltdown. "Tell him the fucking truth!"

"Seska should've had the queen," Eliana snarled, glaring at G'narish. "She was the elder of the two girls."

Before anyone could move, G'narish drew his belt knife, slashing out and up; nearly severing Eliana's head from her body. Eyes bulging in surprise, the former Igen headwoman fell dead at his feet.

"G'narish, you killed her!" Calentia wailed, terrified by his ferocity. "How could you?"

"She left me no choice, Cally," G'narish muttered, his whole-body trembling with the rage he struggled to control. "I didn't want to, but she would've killed you if I didn't stop her. As your father, I had to do it to protect you from her. Do you understand?"

Slowly, mutely, Calentia nodded, still a bit in shock from what had happened.

G'narish turned to me. "This makes Ilia the new headwoman, doesn't it?"

Silently, I nodded.

"Neither of our queens are due to rise yet," Calentia said. "I think Miroirth will be the first to rise. It'll be some time yet before Zareth can, wounded as she is. You're sure she'll make a full recovery?"

"Positive," I replied, a gentle smile coming to my lips. "Given her stubborn spirit, she might even rise first."

"OH. No."

Neither of us had realized just how much Calentia hated mating flights until G'narish saw the look in her eyes.

"Do your weyrmates force you, honey?" he asked in the gentlest voice I'd heard yet.

Calentia didn't respond, at least not verbally. But her tears spoke eloquently enough on their own.

"I'll have a discussion with those riders, my sweet," G'narish assured her, giving her trembling hands a gentle squeeze. "We'll be present at the next mating flight as it will determine who the next leaders of Igen Weyr will be."

"Daddy?" Calentia spoke, using that name for the first time in her life. "Don't let C'liff be involved. He's the worst."

"Okay, sweetie. Whatever you say. Do you want me to throw the mating flight open?"

"Yes, please!" wept Calentia, palpable relief on her face and in her voice.


	6. Chapter 6 - Mistakes Of The Past

Chapter 6 – Mistakes Of The Past

Midmorning at Igen Weyr, 31.8.10.

I was awakened out of a sound sleep by a loud, sensuous bellow.

"Either a queen or a green is about to rise, G'narish." I mumbled, sleepily.

"Let's hope it's a green." G'narish muttered, reluctant to wake up. "Cally's in no fit state to undergo a mating flight. And if it's Miroirth, Calentia can't go _between_ to send her queen away."

"Gamma, gampa!" an excited little voice intruded. Ava came running into the room, her arms outstretched. "Mama's queen's going to mate!"

"Shards, it is Miroirth!" the two of us groaned together.

"How're we going to get Zareth out of here?" G'narish demanded. "She can't fly _between_! She'll get excited and rise, too!"

"We don't need that!" I cried, struggling out of our comfy bed and struggling to throw on my riding gear. "They'd fight and Miroirth would have the upper hand. That's pathetic to pit a strong person against a weak and wounded one in any sense, but to do it like this is unconscionable! What are we going to do? She's blooding her kills!"

"We can't fellis a dragon, or I would suggest that," G'narish muttered, struggling to throw on his own clothes. "Dragons are too large. We'd need a whole bucketful."

"Could someone take Zareth to Honshu without Cally?" I asked, desperate for an answer.

"Zareth can't fly _between_," G'narish reminded me.

"Who said that?" I demanded. "Eliana?"

"As a matter of fact, it was," G'narish recalled, nervously rubbing his chin, "but I wouldn't want to risk it in case she was actually telling the truth."

"We don't have a choice," I concluded, my heart racing. "We'll have to risk it. Chlorith has to go, too!"

_I'll take Zareth with me,_ Chlorith offered. _We could fly straight to Honshu… _After a moment's pause, she added, _But I don't want to go. It's too exciting here._

"I don't want you to die, sweetie," I implored my golden heart.

Turning to my weyrmate, I said, "I'm sorry, G'narish, but I'm off. You can work with Golanth while you're home."

Chlorith decided not to fly straight as she had first suggested but chose instead to go _between_ the moment we lifted off the ground. She used telekinesis to lift off because she was cradling both of Zareth's wrenched wings in her foreclaws. Zareth made the jump _between_ all right, but when we emerged at Honshu, her wings looked the worse for wear.

"I'm sorry, Zareth," I said apologetically; "but we had to get you out of there. Chlorith will work on your wing. We might have to redo the stitches, but you should be all right."

_I am more worried about Calentia than myself_, the queen responded, her eyes shading to worried orange. _I am too weak to rise right now._

"We had to make sure you were safe, though," I explained. "Miroirth might've gone after if you had stayed because she might have seen you as a threat to her dragons."

_She likes Seorth,_ Zareth informed me. _She wouldn't mate with anyone but him._

"Sometimes you can't control that," I reminded her queen. "Raeana doesn't like Br'taler."

_She thinks he's mean,_ Zareth agreed. _He gets drunk a lot and hits her_.

"What?!" I exploded; suddenly, thoroughly incensed. "Chlorith, tell G'narish to make sure Br'taler is not involved in this flight! He gets drunk and beats Raeana!"

_I told Guyamath_, my queen hummed, swinging her massive head around to rub against my face. _G'narish will take care of it!_

"Elli, what's wrong?" F'lessan asked, skidding to a stop nearby, breathing hard from running.

"Raeana's weyrmate beats her when he gets drunk," I fumed, pounding my fist on Chlorith's neck ridge in frustration, "which, apparently, happens often! And I can't do anything to control it! She never told me! I made her promise to tell me all her problems, and she broke it! Oh, my God, I can't believe he does that to her!"

I broke down, tears falling down my face.

"What's the matter, dudette?" Tiffany wanted to know, coming down from her weyr.

"B-b-Br'taler beats Raeana when he's drunk, and it sounds like he's been doing it quite often. Zareth must be keeping an eye on Raeana and Miroirth, because she knew what was going on and told me about it."

Chlorith reached her foreclaws up to me and gathered me into them, cradling my shuddering body against her chest, crooning encouragement.

_I love you,_ she hummed. _I'm here. I will never leave you. I promise._

"I know, dear heart," I sobbed, "but that doesn't solve our problem. Br'taler must really hate Raeana for some reason to do that."

_He hates all women and harpers because the love of his life left him for one,_ Zareth explained. _I know a lot about people and dragons because I observe them. I am of Rollith's clutch, but she does the same thing. Not as well as Chlorith and I, but the four of us are good at observing and psychoanalyzing._

Gasping, I whirled to stare at Calentia's dragon. I'd never heard a dragon use such big words before.

"Psychoanalyzing, eh?" asked Tiffany.

"I'll get Manora to resuture those wings," I told Zareth.

"Not until she goes _between_ again," Tiffany argued. "That'll just undo them."

"We can't afford to lose any blood," I insisted.

"It's more swollen than bleeding right now," Tiffany said, examining Zareth's wounds. "I can feel it."

"Do we have ice?" I asked.

_Ice is too cold_, Zareth complained.

"I think we do." Tiffany responded as she went to the newly made freezer and opened it. Honshu Weyrhold was the first of any of the holds, halls, or weyrs to have a refrigerator/freezer. As soon as Fandarel perfected the appliance, he had the whole Smithcrafthall producing them. Tiffany came back with an ice pack and handed it to me. Then she fished out another for the other wing and handed that to me.

"Now hold those on your wings until they melt," I instructed Zareth. "That should bring down the swelling."

_Then I will work with the wings to strengthen them_, said Chlorith, _but first I must work with Golanth. It's been a few days since I was able to work with him. Have you been practicing, Golanth?_

_Five times a day!_ Golanth proudly reported. _I want to get better!_

As I watched Chlorith work with Golanth's wrenched wing, I marveled at how wonderful my dragon was. I concentrated on how much I loved my Chlorith. I couldn't hold or stroke her, so I held Tiff instead.

"Twin, you can let go now," she complained. "You're hurting me."

"Oh, my God, I'm sorry!" I cried; my concentration broken.

Rollith crooned with Tiffany's acceptance of my apology.

_G'narish says we can return_, Chlorith announced. _The mating flight is over. Baroth flew Miroirth. Raeana likes his rider._

I heaved a gusty sigh of relief. Br'taler would not bother Raeana anymore.

We made the trip _between_ without incident, then summoned A'mer to redo the stitches in Zareth's wing.

_Now I can work on you_, said Chlorith as A'mer moved off.

That part complete, I turned and went to Raeana's weyr.

"Why didn't you tell me about Br'taler?" I asked in a hurt voice.

"I thought I could handle it myself," Raeana replied, shrugging. "We had a child together. That should've been reason enough to try to handle him."

"You're making the same mistake I did," I said, reproachfully. "You can't stay with an abusive husband or weyrmate. Miroirth should have known there was a problem with you."

"I tried to hide it even from her," Raeana wept, her voice breaking.

"Come here, sweetheart," I said.

I threw my arms around her and held her as she cried. When her sobs had subsided somewhat, I took a deep breath.

"I made the same mistake with your daddy," I told her. "I didn't see the verbal abuse he was throwing at me or the neglect with which he was treating you. He'd give you cereal in bed and keep you there until 11:00 in the morning so he could sleep. We had a baby gate by your door until you were three because he didn't want you falling downstairs, and he didn't want to get you out of bed. He loved the idea of being a dad, but he hated the responsibility that went with it. Now you just got out of a nasty relationship where your weyrmate beat you senseless when he got drunk every night. Only your dragon could've gotten you out of that. When Zareth told me, I made sure G'narish pulled him out of the flight. He can go for greens with male riders if his dragon needs to mate, but he will most certainly not be going after you or Calentia ever again!"

I couldn't see it, but I knew Raeana had managed a watery smile as she hugged me.

"Thank you, Mom," she whispered.

"Don't thank me," I countered, shaking my head. "Thank Zareth! She's the one who brought it to my attention."

"You'd've thought Miroirth would've done that, instead," Tiffany remarked, joining the conversation.

"I told her to keep it a secret," Raeana admitted. "I didn't want to leave him because of Ava, so she mated with Seorth repeatedly. These past four years have been miserable!"

"I'd agree with you, precious," I said softly. Then, more firmly, I added, "But he can't bother you anymore."

"How's Calentia?" I asked.

"I just got out of mating… I don't know," Raeana said in a duh voice.

"I'll go check on her," I said as I headed for the exit, "but I had to be sure you were okay, first."

I couldn't see it, but I knew Raeana nodded.

"I'm okay, Mom," she assured me. "Go check on my sister."


	7. Chapter 7 - Return To Honshu

_**Chapter 7 – Return To Honshu**_

From Igen Weyr to Honshu Weyrhold / 31.8.11-31.8.15

AIVAS Reckoning, August 11-15, AL 2553

"Elli, we've got to go, right now!" G'narish cried, throwing me my riding gear and dressing in his at top speed.

"Where are we going?" I wondered as I struggled into my gear.

"Back home!" he cried. "Just get dressed!"

"Cally can't fly _between_, and she and Raeana are the only queens in the Weyr."

"Cally will have to stay behind for now, but the rest of us have got to go!"

"What's going on?" I demanded.

"No time to explain!" G'narish was obviously frightened of something, and I desperately needed to know what.

"But… "

"I'll explain when we get there," G'narish said finally, adding a hug, "but get dressed!"

More than a little confused, I boarded Chlorith, and the four of us were awing. When we arrived at Honshu, F'lessan greeted us with obvious relief.

"Why didn't you bring Raeana and Calentia?" he demanded when he didn't see the queens landing with us.

"Calentia's too ill yet to go _between_," G'narish explained, "and Raeana's senior Weyrwoman now. We couldn't bring them."

"All the more reason to bring them," F'lessan cried in exasperation. "The Abominators classify you as guilty by association. No one's safe who associates with abominations."

"What?!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "You're saying our lives are in danger because we're helping the planet?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," F'lessan responded. "G'narish, why didn't you tell her?"

"I didn't want to frighten her," he said contritely.

"I'm not frightened," I roared, stomping my boot into the dirt. "I'm pissed off! What we're doing for the planet is making life better. We're picking up where AIVAS left off!"

"They hated AIVAS, too," F'lessan said softly. "Toric is one of the Abominators. He's got himself new recruits after the first ones were exiled to those ring islands in the East. He's the new leader since 5th was killed by AIVAS' defense mechanism. He doesn't want anything to get in the way of him owning all the Southern Continent, and he feels that you, and everyone who associates with you, are a threat to his plans."

"How're we going to stop that son of a bitch?" I demanded. "I can't just sit at home while all my family's in danger!"

"They're all coming here," F'lessan replied.

"Raeana can't!" I cried.

"Yes, she can," G'narish said so forcefully that I stared after him in surprise. He had never been so forceful before. "I can't lose my weyrmate or my daughters at all. And they would feel so guilty if their family was killed. As long as Toric doesn't know where you are, everything should be okay."

"Shouldn't we time it, then?" I asked.

"Your father can't handle timing it at his age," G'narish argued. "Toric hasn't explored this far yet, so hopefully he won't come looking here."

"What about the dragons?" I demanded. "Wouldn't he want to preserve them?"

"He doesn't care about dragons." G'narish's voice was soft now. "He's seen enough of those Oldtimers down south that he has a very low opinion of dragonriders."

"At least Chlorith can go back to working on Golanth's wing again," I sighed, shaking my head at the absurdity of the Abominators. "That's one consolation to her. She's worried about it ever since we left to return to Igen Weyr to care for Calentia."

_But now, I won't be able to heal Zareth_, rumbled Chlorith sadly.

Just then, a golden queen dragon came arrowing in to land. A rider jumped off her and ran to me, hugging me.

"Zareth has risen unexpectedly, so I came here," said Raeana, all smiles in her voice.

Pulling back to get a better look at me, she added, "I'm much happier now with my new weyrmate than I was with Br'taler. I think he's a closeted homosexual anyway and hid it by mating with queens. He seems glad to get rid of me, in fact. I think your restrictions on him did both of us a lot of good, Dad."

"You need to stay here," G'narish said roughly. "The Abominators are at it again."

"What Abominators?" Raeana demanded, taken aback.

I did my best to quickly give her the rundown.

"Well, we can at least fight Thread, can't we?" Raeana asked. "We have three queens here. We can make a Queens' Wing."

"No!" G'narish shouted, his voice rough with anxiety. "No one here will fight Thread, do you hear me?"

When she didn't answer, G'narish shook her roughly by the shoulders. "Do… you… understand?"

"Yes, Daddy," Raeana meekly responded, nodding.

G'narish had never shaken her before.

"I need to tell Tiffany and F'rangle," I said urgently.

_I already told Rollith and Colinath,_ Chlorith said calmly. _They know. They say they'll stay here and not fight Thread._

"Okay then, that's settled," I sighed, feeling a little better about the situation.

"What did Chlorith say to you?" G'narish asked.

"She told Rollith and Colinath about the threats to our lives," I informed him. "They said they'd stay and not fight Thread."

"Then that's taken care of," G'narish said, breathing more freely.

"Where's Ava?" I asked.

"She's still at the Weyr," Raeana said, unconcerned. "The Abominators wouldn't harm children, would they?"

"Guilty by association!" G'narish reminded her, his voice suddenly ferocious with his anger. "How dare you leave your child behind in a crisis like this?"

"I didn't know there was a crisis, okay?" she cried, tears forming in her eyes.

"This is Toric we're talking about, Yaya," I said much more gently than G'narish had. "Anything's possible with that man."

"But he never acted up before," she complained.

"He was biding his time until he got support," G'narish said, calming down in the face of Raeana's tears. "He didn't want to make the same mistakes as Fax."

"Well, he just made a big one!" Lessa interrupted, coming into the room. "No, F'lessan, Benden doesn't fly Thread till tomorrow, so we're okay here."

"Toric will stop at nothing to get rid of these abominations," F'lar remarked, shucking off his riding jacket. Grinning at his son, he added, "You're very brave to harbor these abominations."

"I can't do much more than hold with Golanth wounded," F'lar's son muttered, shrugging his shoulders helplessly.

Just then, a bronze dragon lifted off the ground of the beasthold and flew around the complex once, twice, thrice, then landed solidly back in his own weyr.

_Do laps like that every day,_ Chlorith said happily, _then do the exercises we've been working on. Was Zaranth there to do the exercises with you when I wasn't?_

_Yes, she was,_ Golanth said confidently.

_You've really improved since I left, _Chlorith remarked, her tone pleased. _Zaranth should be trained up as my assistant._

_She used telekinesis for the most part_, Golanth remarked. _She did not manipulate the wing with her claws as you did. I need a massage after that flight._

Chlorith obliged. When I relayed to the others what I had overheard, cries of joy resounded off the walls, and F'lessan wept with pure joy that his dragon had flown three laps around Honshu's vast complex.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Abominators Assault

_**Chapter 8 – The Abominators Assault**_

At Honshu Weyrhold, 31.8.11–31.9.11

"I was a homebody on purpose when I lived on Earth," I complained; "Now I'm forced to live that way again via house arrest!"

"You're not on house arrest," G'narish grumbled for the umpteenth time. "You're being kept here for safety. I can't lose you like I lost so many others! I love you, and you have to remember that I'm guilty by association with an abomination, so I'm in just as much danger as you."

"But you can fight your way out of it," I muttered, flinging my hands up. "I can't. I can't defend myself against a big guy like Toric. I only remember one move from my self-defense training back in Louisiana, and that's the move where you flip somebody over your head from behind you when they're trying to strangle you. Toric isn't going to go for the throat. He's going to go for the sword."

"You're right about that," G'narish said, "and I'll be ready!"

"You can't even fight Thread anymore!" I cried derisively. "What makes you think you can fight another human being to the death?"

"Two completely different scenarios," he replied. "I lost D'nag to Thread, not another human being. And it's a human being that's threatening your very existence."

"Thread threatens my very existence whenever I fight it," I countered.

"You're not in the direct line of Threadfall," G'narish argued. "You're in the Queens' wing where hardly any Thread falls. You just have to catch what little Thread the other wings miss."

"Perhaps we should move somewhere else, though?" I suggested. "If we stay here too long, he'll find us."

"Calentia is in no fit state to be moved," G'narish hissed, clearly angry.

"Then why did you bring her here?"

"This is a Weyrhold. Toric will be expecting most of you in a fighting Weyr. He doesn't know I stepped down as Weyrleader, and I could very easily have stayed in Igen Weyr even though I stepped down."

"But most Weyrleaders are taking to the south when they retire… Pilgra and M'rand did that when they stepped down earlier this year. D'ram went south when he stepped down after Fanna died."

_Listen to G'narish,_ Chlorith silently urged me.

"Okay," I acquiesced to both of them. "Lord F'lessan will protect all of us."

"Lord, huh?" F'lessan scoffed as he entered the room. "I'm not a Lord Holder… or a Weyrleader. I don't ever want to be one, and I can't be a Lord Holder with a dragon."

"Nonsense," I said, smiling up at him. "Lord Jaxom set the precedent. You'd be the second Lord Holder with a dragon."

"This is a Weyr Hold," G'narish smiled, emphasizing the words. "You're the one in charge. That makes you the Lord Holder."

"A Lord Weyrleader?" I grinned mischievously.

"Lord leader?" G'narish continued my rumination.

"Just plain Lord will do," F'lessan chuckled. "One day, I'll be Lord Astronomer. There's already an observatory set up here in Honshu. When this Pass is over, the Weyrs will be defunct. People can still live there, but they won't be needed. The observatories will definitely be needed to prevent disasters like the one when that rogue comet slammed into Pern not long ago."

"Lord Astronomer F'lessan," I remarked, grinning from ear to ear, "it has a ring to it."

"When's Wansor coming?" I asked, changing the subject.

"No one is allowed to go in or out," F'lessan sighed, shaking his head, "since G'narish ordered us all sequestered."

I groaned. "I was supposed to educate Wansor on how to live independently as a blind man.

"That'll have to wait until this crisis has passed," G'narish gently spoke. "If Toric finds out how many people have been coming and going here, he'll figure out that we're here."

"You don't have to hide with us," I argued, feeling frustrated. "Just pretend you're as hidebound as those Southern Oldtimers and Toric will love you. Then, you can beat the crap out of him when the time is ripe."

"That won't work," F'lessan muttered. "He knows who the Senior Weyrwoman of Igen has been for the last seven Turns, and he'll know G'narish is putting on an act to please him."

"Then what'll we do?" I demanded, my frustration growing. "Wait till Toric dies? He'll stop at nothing to gain power."

"I know," G'narish said sadly. "I know."

_I want to swim,_ Chlorith complained. _I can't dance, either._

"You can dance, Chlori," I said, trying to comfort her. "You just can't go anywhere."

"Actually, the dancing would be a dead giveaway," F'lessan remarked. "If another dragon passes by on sweep and sees her dancing, they'll know exactly who she is. She is also guilty by association. She is perhaps the smartest dragon on Pern. Dragons aren't supposed to be good at abstract thoughts, but Chlorith surpasses even Ruth at that, and Ruth was unique in that ability until Chlorith hatched."

"Dragon conversations are pretty basic," G'narish observed. "They talk about things that happened to them or about sleeping in the sun or swimming in the lake. They talk about Threadfall, but they don't talk about anything deep. If you engage Chlorith in conversation, she's deeper than most humans."

"Rollith is, too," I added. "All the dragons are getting smarter these days. It's in their evolution."

"I thought their programming insinuated that they would not be as intelligent as humans," F'lessan remarked.

"Well, clearly, Chlorith is going beyond her programming," I said defiantly. "Kitty Ping Yung may not have taken into consideration how evolution would affect the species. She just knew they would grow in size and physical strength."

Something my weyrmate had said finally registered. Turning to him, I asked, "How do you know what dragons talk about anyway, G'narish? You only hear Guyamath."

"And I always hear his side of the conversation whenever he talks to dragons," he explained. "Strange thing is, I can also hear Chlorith."

"How could you possibly hear Chlorith?" I spluttered, startled by this latest revelation.

"Isn't it obvious, my love?" G'narish asked, laying a gentle hand on my cheek. "We're bonded so tightly that I can hear your queen along with my bronze."

"I hear Zaranth," F'lessan added, supporting G'narish' statement.

_Would the surprises here on Pern never end?_ I silently wondered.

A month passed before anything happened. Calentia was all but healed. She still walked with a limp, but she was now doing simple tasks in Honshu's lower caverns to keep herself busy. She didn't want to think about how she had failed Seska. I tried to broach the subject a few times by asking gently if she was okay and if she wanted to talk, but she always assured me she was fine… that there was nothing for me to worry about.

Other than Calentia's and Golanth's progress toward recovery, nothing had changed. Dad was getting antsy. He wanted to go out to eat and drink with buddies, something he had not done since he left Earth. The people of Pern were just getting started on building stores and restaurants, but nothing like that was yet available at Honshu.

During my explorations of the Weyrhold, I had discovered the power packs that went with the sleds and how to charge them. Armed with this knowledge, I rushed to the Smithcrafthall to get Fandarel to reassemble the sleds and learn how to make new ones.

"That way," I explained, gesturing at the parts we had assembled, "people won't need to ask the watch dragons to convey them everywhere."

"That's Benelek's job, Elli," he explained, smiling at me, "but I'll bring the project to him."

"We don't have the parts to make cars, trucks, or busses," I sighed, a bit disillusioned by how much technology had been lost by the Pern ancestors, "but we do have the parts to make sleds, and we could manufacture more of those with metal and plastic."

"We will one day," Fandarel assured me, smiling as he gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Rest assured on that, my dear Weyrwoman!"

The project had just gotten off the ground when G'narish heard the news that Toric was an Abominator, so I didn't know how the work was progressing. Of course, it'd take some time, but I was still impatient. They could've assembled at least one sled by now, and I wanted desperately to know how it was working out. I couldn't send my fire-lizards out either, because Toric had three of his own, and he could very likely send them out to track my queens. Elizabeth and Marie-Antoinette would have to stay sequestered in Honshu along with the rest of us.

"This is so boring!" Oriana complained one day. "Can't I at least go outside and play?"

"No!" I yelled at her which made her cry.

"I'm sorry, Ori," I apologized, adding a gentle hug, "but there are bad people out there who want to kill us. We have to stay inside until they're caught."

Toric didn't go to Benden as we had thought. He chose, instead, to attack the smallest Weyr first. In his mind, it wasn't even a real Weyr… just a Weyrhold, where old farts went to retire. Besides, he was convinced F'lessan's dragon was crippled for life, unable to protect anyone, making Toric's first target easy pickings. He planned to attack all nine Weyrs, saving Benden Weyr for last!

That fateful day, Golanth suddenly roared a challenge. He had flown up to the ledge on his own initiative, testing the extent of his recovery. He had wanted to see how high he could fly until his wing gave out, but he had also wanted to watch for the bad men his human companions had said wanted to hurt them. Whether by Fate or just dumb luck, Golanth spotted the intruders not far off from the Weyrhold, heavily armed with knives, swords, spears, even clubs. He kept roaring his challenge as the intruders moved closer to the Weyr, their manner and intent clearly threatening. He bugled for F'lessan, who wondered only briefly how his dragon had gotten himself up to that ledge — was it telekinesis? — before he sprinted to the window and looked out.

_Bad ones come!_ Golanth growled, his eyes beginning to whirl a brilliant red.

F'lessan realized with growing alarm that his dragon wasn't exaggerating. At least 30 men and women were moving stealthily through the surrounding underbrush toward the doors of Honshu, carrying all sorts of weapons.

"At least they don't have guns," I said sardonically, joining F'lessan at the window.

"What are guns?" G'narish asked quizzically.

"I'll show it to you later in the AIVAS files," I told him.

"A weapon of that caliber would never be allowed on Pern," F'lessan injected. He'd looked it up already and didn't like the sound of what they could do. "Swords and spears are bad enough."

Then, he ducked as a spear went whizzing past his head. He reached for his belt knife, but what good would that do with all those larger, more lethal weapons? He had to defend his Weyrhold and the people in it.

"Run, everyone!" he shouted. "I'll hold them off!"

"You can't do it singlehandedly!" G'narish argued.

With a start, the former Igen Weyrleader recognized the head of the assault group… and charged straight at him. It was Toric himself! The big man stood out clearly against his normal-sized followers.

"We need help!" F'lessan cried. "Elli, send your fire-lizards for help!"

"I have a better idea!" I shouted. "Lessa has a cell phone now. I'll text her."

I whipped out my Bluetooth keyboard, but no sooner had I gotten it into my hands, it was wrenched away by an Abominator.

"Gimme back my keyboard, you son of a bitch!" I screamed, now thoroughly furious.

F'lessan snatched it out of the Abominator's grip before he could shatter it to pieces and handed it back to me. I immediately sent the text message to Lessa… "Help! Honshu Weyrhold! Don't ask questions, just come!"

G'narish was now dueling with Toric. I had never witnessed G'narish dueling with anyone before.

"Did you think I'd let you attack my weyrmate without a fight?" G'narish roared, his face livid with rage. "Do you think I'm not man enough because I have PTSD? Do you think I'm weak?"

He parried a blow from Toric so effortlessly that everyone else stopped to watch.

"Do you think you can take over like Fax?" G'narish demanded, aiming a blow at the leader of the Abominators' oh-so-large balls.

"I'm ... better ... than ... Fax!" Toric panted. "I'll ... take over ... the world! The Southern ... Continent ... is ... my ... birthright!"

"You already have the largest hold on Pern," G'narish scoffed, circling Toric. "There's no way you can hold all of the Southern Continent. And, by the First Egg, there's no way I'm letting you rule Pern!"

"It's... my ... right!" Toric hissed, struggling to draw breath.

"You don't have the right to any holding on Pern," G'narish snarled ominously. "I hereby take away that right! That's what you get for tangling with my weyrmate and her family."

Dad had been severely wounded by a spear thrust in the belly. Mom was cowering nearby as the combatants dueled each other. Besides Dad's spear thrust to the belly, all the weapons seemed to miss us. Stranger still, all our weapons rang true, except that they didn't kill anyone, just wounded them.

"It's over, Toric!" G'narish said. "Hamian will take over as Lord Holder of Southern, or Bessic. Bessic would be a much better Lord Holder than you!"

That said, he thrust his knife into Toric's belly. Too distracted by what G'narish had been saying, the Southern Lord Holder completely forgot to block the blow.

"You will be exiled," G'narish growled, his hand still on the hilt of his belt knife as he glared at Toric, "along with the rest of your followers!"

"You can't exile me!" Toric laughed despite the knife in the belly. "You have no authority anymore. Southern doesn't look to Igen, and you stepped down as leader!"

"This is all the authority I need," G'narish hissed, thrusting the knife deeper until it went right through the ribs and into the big man's heart.

Toric, lord of Southern Hold and leader of the Abominators, fell dead at G'narish' feet. The former Igen Weyrleader kicked the lifeless body aside, blood reddening the stone floor.

"We'll need to clean this up," I said. "Somebody better get me a mop."

"I'll clean it up gladly," a new voice spoke. Lessa had come in through the broken door. Seeing the Southern Holder's lifeless body, she demanded, "Who knifed Toric?"

"G'narish did," F'lessan informed her. "He was defending his family."

"A blow well struck, then," Lessa responded and nodded.

She bent down to check for a pulse, but there was none.

"Who'll take over as Lord of Southern?" she asked.

"Bessic's the eldest," F'lar injected, joining his Weyrwoman. "He'll make a better lord than Toric."

"I'm free!" I said suddenly! "I can go check on the sled project!"

"Toric's lot dismantled the sleds, Elli," Lessa sighed, laying a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"We can put them back together!" I said brightly. "I just gotta get out of here. Chlori? Are you ready to dance and swim again?"

_Yes,_ she wordlessly replied. _I kept misdirecting the swords and spears so that they wouldn't hit you. I saw what it did to your father, and I had to make sure it didn't happen again._

"You saved all our lives, Chlori," I said reverently, giving my beautiful golden lifemate a fierce muzzle hug. "Let's go dance!"


	9. Chapter 9 - Southern's New Lord

_**Chapter 9 – Southern's New Lord**_

Confirmation date of the New Lord Holder of Southern

31.9.12 / AIVAS Reckoning, September 12, AL 2553

"The first order of business today," said F'lar, presiding over the meeting as usual, is the confirmation of a new Lord Holder of Southern Hold."

All the Weyrleaders and Lord Holders had convened at Landing for this all-important conclave. Some of them looked irritable at having to be taken from their Holds for something as unimportant as this. Others looked relieved that Toric was no longer Lord Holder of the Southern Hold.

"Do we really have to go through all this?" Groghe of Fort Hold complained. "I say we break up Southern into smaller portions and divide it among the Holders' sons!"

"That will be an option to consider," F'lar said graciously, giving Lord Groghe a smile, "but someone has to hold at least part of it."

"I don't want all of that," Bessic remarked, gesturing at the map of Southern Hold pinned to the nearby wall. "I only want what is mine."

"Toric would've left you everything if you become Lord Holder," Lessa said to him, her voice gentle.

She was aware that the relationship between him and his father had been rocky. They were always at loggerheads, Toric the flamboyant, and Bessic the mild-mannered.

"We cannot ask your uncle Hamian to take over," Lessa continued. "He's already a Mastersmith. You can't be lord holder and mastersmith at the same time. He's the Master Plasticsmith, so we can't lose him."

"Understandable," Bessic had to admit, "but I don't want to hold all the lands that Toric claimed as his. I only want the portion that holds the Major Hold complex. The rest can be divided amongst the Holders' sons."

"Well said, Bessic, well said!" bellowed Lord Groghe genially, clouting Bessic on the shoulder affectionately.

"Now what about Toric?" Lord Kashman of Keroon Hold demanded. "Exactly what happened to him?"

"He was bested in a duel between himself and a dragonrider," F'lar responded, careful not to mention which dragonrider it was.

"And shouldn't this dragonrider be put on trial for murder?" Kashman demanded.

"Not if it was a fight to the death!" Lessa cried. "F'lar did what he had to do to keep the inhabitants of Honshu Weyrhold safe from invasion."

"Um, Lessa, it wasn't me." F'lar mumbled, but Lessa ignored him.

"He has been the champion of three duels prior to this one. I had confidence that he could beat Toric."

Lessa winked at him. By saying he had caused Toric's death, she was protecting G'narish from exile from the Lord Holders. No one would dare to exile the Weyrleader of Pern, but they wouldn't think twice about exiling, banishing, or shunning an ex-Weyrleader with post-traumatic stress disorder. Lessa was convinced that G'narish had acted nobly four days ago, and she was protecting him for that reason, not because she wanted to take him away from me as a weyrmate. I opened my mouth to protest, but Lessa stamped on my foot.

"What?" I whispered.

"They'll shun G'narish if they knew he killed a Lord Holder for any reason, even if Toric was trying to take over the entire Southern Continent," Lessa hissed back.

"Why would they shun him?" I demanded as F'lar began speaking again to the room at large to cover up my voice.

"Because he killed a Lord Holder," Lessa hissed impatiently.

"F'lar killed Fax and nobody shunned him for that," I whispered, recalling some of Pern's recent history that I had learned, "even though most people hated dragonriders."

"True," Lessa said in a gentler tone; "but a lot of people hadn't caught onto Toric's scheme yet, and everyone knew what Fax was like by the time F'lar did away with him. Besides," and she lowered her voice to an even more conspiratorial level, "I forced F'lar to duel Fax so I could get Ruatha back. Of course, that didn't work because he saw my power, and he took me to Benden for the Hatching. I Impressed Ramoth, and the rest is history."

"You don't use that aspect of your power anymore," I stated, whispering even more quietly now.

"Only when Ramoth needs to blood her kill instead of eat it," Lessa smiled.

"I think I have that power, too," I remarked. "I can hurl brainwaves at someone when I want something, and most of the time they obey me. I always thought that was coincidence, but now I wonder."

"All in favor of confirming Bessic as the new Lord Holder of Southern?" F'lar's voice boomed over the whispered conversation between myself and Lessa.

"How do I cast a ballot?" I asked. "They're not in Braille."

"I still don't get this Braille thing," Lessa admitted, "so I'll help you. Who do you want?"

"Bessic," I said. "Those twins of his are useless!"

"They'll get their own portions of the land once Lord Bessic divides it up."

"The next order of business should be the fate of the rider who killed Toric!" Kashman cried, his nostrils flaring.

"Nothing will be done about Toric's death," Lessa firmly declared. "F'lar acted nobly that day! He was called to help the inhabitants of Honshu Weyrhold, and he did! Toric was the one in the wrong, not F'lar."

"Lessa," F'lar whispered, but she continued to ignore him.

"Stop protecting me!" G'narish cried, springing to his feet. "I killed Toric. He was about to murder my weyrmate and her entire family! If that had happened, we would've lost not only the Earthlings but also 12 dragons in one day. That is an unspeakable tragedy and had to be prevented at all cost."

"And he has nightmares about it, too," I put in. "He has nightmares every time he kills somebody, so you can't call him a psychopath."

"Toric's work was noble!" Kashman argued. "I've had to put up with these abominations all my life. Corman was tolerant of them, but I refuse to put up with them any longer! I'll go to one of those ring islands if I must, but these abominations are bad for Pern!"

"Excuse me, sitting right here," I said, winking.

"You have ruined our lives!" Kashman screamed, leaping to his feet, his manner bordering on psychotic. "You should have your throat cut; your body should be ripped to shreds! You should be left out naked in the middle of Threadfall!"

I harbored little doubt about what my weyrmate's reaction to that outburst would be… and I wasn't disappointed. Before anyone else could react, G'narish had Kashman in a choke hold.

"Do you want to say anything more?" G'narish demanded in the same menacing tone he had used with Toric.

"She's an abomination," Kashman struggled to say. "They're all abominations!"

Emitting a guttural growl, G'narish threw the Keroon Lord Holder bodily across the room where he banged his head against the stone wall, rendering him unconscious, effectively ending the man's psychotic rant.

"Anyone else want to fill his boots?" G'narish demanded menacingly.

When no one answered, he sat back down and put a hand on my arm.

"I'm okay, Narish," I assured him. "Just depressed that anyone would think about me that way. All I ever tried to do was help you guys here, and it hurts to learn that some don't appreciate it."

"Join the club, Twin," Tiffany sighed. "Join the club."

I put my free arm around her tenderly.

"Don't feel so badly about it," Lessa tried to console me. "It would seem that no matter where you come from, there are people who just can't handle change."

"I started helping you guys for that exact same reason," I said. "I didn't want to change my way of life. I just tried to improve it here on Pern. I started talking about TV and radio because we had them on Earth. I didn't watch much TV, but Dad did. His life was nothing but TV or his I-pad."

"We have ways of charging those power packs now," Fandarel chimed in, speaking for the first time, "ever since Elli showed us those outlets back on Earth."

"Yes, so?" I asked.

"We can repair those sleds we found and manufacture new ones along with power packs and chargers," the burly Mastersmith explained. "We have also manufactured new adapters for our new appliances. Sleds won't pollute the air the way your ground vehicles would."

"We could make all electric ground vehicles," I told him. "Your society would still be more primitive than the original colonists were. Electric ground vehicles exist back on Earth. They're just really expensive, so we didn't have one. They were called green cars. They were also developing a car that could drive by itself, so that blind people could drive cars as well, but that project is still in the works. It hasn't really gotten off the ground yet."

"We have a couple of sleds here already," Fandarel informed me. "They would traverse the air faster than any car could traverse the ground."

"Dragonriders wouldn't need sleds," I remarked, "and Holders wouldn't want them if a dragon could take them _between_."

"But dragons don't carry holders everywhere!" G'narish reminded me. "Most of the time they use runners and burdenbeasts."

"You mean horses," I said. "What's the difference between burdenbeasts and runnerbeasts, anyway? They're the same except that they're used for different purposes. I bet sleds would be better for traders though."

"I think AIVAS called the burdenbeasts oxen or mules or perhaps donkeys," G'narish responded. "I don't remember. People on Old Earth used all those beasts for transportation of themselves and their goods."

"We will meet in ten days' time to decide the fate of Keroon Hold," F'lar informed the group. "Kashman didn't have a successor picked out. He was so new in his Holding. He took over after Corman died in the plague."

"That plague was horrible!" I remembered. "A lot of people from Igen Weyr died from it. We could only keep them comfortable. We didn't get the vaccine in time. You're supposed to get it every year to prevent it from coming back. There are a lot of other diseases you can vaccinate against as well, and there are guidelines as to when you can get vaccinated. I highly recommend you vaccinate all your children against these diseases."

"Already in progress, Elli." F'lar smiled. Then, looking up at the crowd around him, he declared, "This meeting is adjourned… to be reconvened in ten days' time."

There were nods and grunts of assent as the meeting broke up.


	10. Chapter 10 - A Special Flight

_**Chapter 10 – A Memorable Flight**_

Early Morning at Honshu Weyrhold, 31.9.13

AIVAS Reckoning, September 13, AL 2553.

There was a curious sort of excitement in the air as I woke the day after Lord Bessic was confirmed as Lord Holder of Southern. There was supposed to be a meeting this morning about how Southern was to be divided among the Holders' sons, but I elected not to go. It would be like high school drama all over again. I didn't want to be part of that. I came to help Pern advance, not to meddle in politics. G'narish stayed behind, as well. This was a Holder conflict. The dragonriders were not supposed to be involved. K'van was there because Southern Hold was bound to Southern Weyr, and K'van was the leader of that particular Weyr.

"Did F'lar and Lessa go to the meeting?" I asked.

"Yes, they were required," G'narish replied. "They basically lead nine Weyrs, you know. They're the sole embodiment of Pern. They had to mediate this meeting so it doesn't get too heated."

"I'm excited today," I said, changing the subject. "What's going on?"

"I think Zaranth is about to rise," G'narish explained. "I've noticed the brightness of her color lately."

_Zaranth will rise today_, Chlorith confirmed.

"Oh no!" I cried. "The only male dragon around here who could possibly mate with her is Golanth, and he can't fly!"

"He has been working with Chlorith," G'narish reminded me. "Someone could lift him up with telekinesis."

"That won't sustain him during a flight!" I argued, suddenly nervous. "Tai won't mate with anyone but F'lessan. Golanth must be devastated that he can't fly her!"

_I am fine_, Golanth reported.

For a dragon who was once so bitter about his injury, his attitude had really improved!

Suddenly, Zaranth took flight. I remembered that greens didn't need to blood their kills before they rose to mate. Then, to my utter amazement, Golanth lifted off the ledge and followed his weyrmate.

"Is he doing that via telekinesis?" F'lessan demanded, struggling to hold onto himself long enough to get the answer.

"I hope so!" I replied, nervous all the same, "but I don't know how that will last him through a flight."

_He is not using telekinesis_, Chlorith informed me. _He is flying under his own power. His wing is a little fragile, but he's using it to pursue the one he loves!_

F'lessan would have burst into tears if he hadn't lost control of his humanity. He rushed to Tai's side and led her to their bedchamber to await the outcome. Guyamath and Colinath were also pursuing her but only to give her a run for her money. They didn't want Golanth to be the only pursuer.

But as they rose above the clouds, Colinath lost his way due to the fact that his rider was so attuned to him that they couldn't use his vision. Guyamath was too old to go after such an energetic green and lost the chase fairly quickly.

Using Chlorith's vision, I gasped, my heart nearly stopping when I saw Golanth and Zaranth plunging toward the ground. Several terrifying thoughts flashed through my mind. Had Golanth overworked himself? Was he okay?

A shout of jubilation rang through the Weyrhold, and I turned to see where it was coming from. Then there was the sound of sobbing or laughing. I couldn't tell which. Perhaps there was a mixture of both.

"What's going on?" I demanded.

_Golanth flew Zaranth_, Chlorith informed me. _They are laughing and crying together. They are happy._

I wanted to join the merriment, but this was a private moment, and I knew that the real celebration would take place later.

The festivities that day were loud and long. Members of every Hold, Craft, and Weyr had come to celebrate Chlorith's success at rehabilitating Golanth. Both dragons were awarded the highest honors. And F'lessan, Tai, G'narish, and I received our dues, as well.

Having regained my good singing voice, I sang a few songs with Menolly, and I taught her a few songs I'd composed since arriving on Pern. I hadn't shared them previously, as I wasn't sure how good they'd be.

"You should be a harper!" Menolly praised me. "You could use a little voice instruction, but you're really good!"

"I haven't sung in ten years," I admitted, ducking my head in embarrassment. "I lost my vibrato, so I thought I was no longer good."

"Master Shonagar could help you get your vibrato back," Menolly assured me.

"I had intended to take voice lessons before I left Earth," I sighed with genuine regret, "but I didn't have the money to afford it."

"We'll teach you for free!" Menolly informed me. "Just use Chlorith to come whenever you can, like once a sevenday. Then you'd really be able to sing again; perhaps even better than you did before."

"I'm 46 years old," I muttered, not really sure. "Do you really think that I can get my voice back?"

"Yes, I do," was Menolly's instant reply, a broad smile on her face.

"I've memorized all those songs you wrote and composed and copied the lyrics down in my laptop so that I would always have them," I admitted. "I really loved that Brekke song. It's how I feel about Tiffany, G'narish, and our children."

"We need a song celebrating today's triumph," Menolly mused, giving me a wonderful hug. "You witnessed it firsthand. You should write it!"

"I can't compose on command!" I cried indignantly. "I'm always so afraid of plagiarism, because I did it a lot when I was a little girl. I didn't know it was wrong back then, but Dad taught me it was wrong, and I panicked and blocked the ability. Every so often, a song will come to me, but most of the time the melodies are stupid. I always try to compose songs with unique melodies, but all the unique melodies are taken."

"I'm sad for you," Menolly quietly spoke, gently giving my shoulder a squeeze. "That you would've taken him so literally and lost your talent."

"I know," I sighed, smiling at the encouragement. "I'm a better poetry writer than a music composer."

"Then write a poem when the inspiration hits you," Menolly told me when she saw the look on my face. "You write the words, and I'll write the melody."

"I'll email you the words when they come to me, and then you can work on the melody," I said, nodding. "My new Pernese screen reader works even better than the three I had on Earth combined. I like that you recorded real human voices for them. The ones I had on Earth were all synthetic."

"Which one do you use?" Menolly wondered.

"Yours," I admitted, grinning shyly at my Harper friend, "but at a slightly higher pitch."

"You could record your voice for one in the next update," Menolly suggested. "We're always trying to add new voices for the screen readers so that blind people can use the computers and cell phones more effectively. We can manipulate the voices so that they can speak any word or phrase the way you would speak them, even if you didn't record it on the voice print."

"Where can I record my voice?" I asked.

"We got part of the original AIVAS facility working," Menolly told me, glancing off in the direction of Landing. "We can't use it the way we used to, but we can record voice prints, take pictures, and upload new records into the AIVAS files. You can do all that with our computers, as well, but it takes a lot longer with our desk units."

I had to admit the possibilities were exciting!

The mating flight celebrations carried on well into the evening. That night, as I fell asleep, I kept thinking of how much Pern had advanced since my arrival. The blind were no longer shunned because of their disability. They could now do as much as their sighted counterparts, except maybe driving a sled or wagon. And, in truth, hadn't that been the whole reason for our coming to Pern?

I had Impressed a dragon and two fire-lizards, and I had learned to use their vision to navigate this world as I had never been able to back on Earth. My golden lifemate had healed another dragon that everyone else had thought would never recover. And now, she was working on another based on the knowledge I had given her.

Chlorith was the smartest dragon on Pern. She had given me a way to see. I had dragon sight, and I had found my true purpose in life. I could help people more thoroughly with a dragon than I could without one. I didn't have to be a professional mental health counselor. I just had to be an understanding, empathic dragonrider!

****** The End ******


End file.
